Comments (46)

burt

geoff3012

no Minister…….

NEWSFLASH … LABOUR CONCEDES TE TAI TOKERAU TO HONE
So much for the hypocritical beating from Labour about National doing ‘deals’ in Epsom and Ohariru (leaving aside the fact that MMP is all about doing deals). It is now clear the Cunliffe and Labour, have done exactly that and conceded Te Tai Tokerau to Hone in a deal that should let the Mana/Internet Party come in with three MPs (based on their current pollling).

What’s the evidence for that? Well, the Vet and Mrs Vet took a trip up to Kaitaia on Saturday for a meeting of the Far North Vietnam veterans. On the way up we encountered numerous National Party signs; a sad looking half sign promoting Labour’s Northand candidate; two signs from a weird mob called Focus New Zealand (whose leader believes the Reserve Bank is foreign owned … now where have we heard that before?); a heap of signs from Hone (all replete with the Parliamentary logo), but from Kelvin Davis, the Te Tai Tokerau Labour candidate, zip zero nothing, nothing at all.

If they did a deal, they did it incompetently. I think Kelvin Davis is out of parliament if he doesn’t win the seat, so any deal doesn’t include him. At least National were capable of working out that would be a problem for them, and give their candidates winnable list places.

Tarquin North

Haven’t seen any kelvin Davis billboards around here (south Whangarei) so far. If Labour don’t fight for this seat they should be shot. Hone is just an egotistical scumbag who only cares about his own family and does what mum tells him to do. If he gets in again he will be condemning his constituants to 3 more years of no representation while he swans around big noting and radicalising the young. Is this what Labour wants?

maybe someone who lives in Northland could comment on whether there are any or many billboards up for Kelvin Davis?

Maybe someone who lives in Ohariu could comment on whether there are any or many billboards up for Brett Hudson?

@geoff3012

(leaving aside the fact that MMP is all about doing deals)

MMP is about maximising your party vote. Beyond that, it’s whatever you make of it. If you want to prostitute your party to a man who stands only for his own sinecure at the taxpayer-provided buffet, that’s entirely up to you (not you geoff3012, obviously).

ROJ

Rex – the (big) difference is that Key and National have made their intentions clear about Ohariu and Epsom. It’s an open assist.

Cunliffe keeps strongly denying Labour will do any electorate deals. Davis keeps strongly claiming he is fighting for Te Tai Tokerau – and if he doesn’t win it he risks repeating 2011 and missing out on the list.

But there are claims there is no sign Davis is practising what he’s preaching in the electorate.

Sykes may well be wishful thinking, and Davis may be strategically timing putting up his hoardings. Or someone is fibbing.

alloytoo

Cunliffe should give an unequivocal, categorical statement that Labour will do no deals with Internet Mana, either before or after the election. He won’t of course, for the reason that Manolo refers to.

goldnkiwi

I was just thinking that Labour’s coffers are reported as being strained. There was a Labour auction the other day wasn’t there? I think I read that the candidates were sighing with relief that they could support their individual campaigns. Kelvin hasn’t had much time to prepare, Shane having departed so quickly.

Wira Gardiner seems a good choice as he supported Shane’s leadership aspirations as a Maori and can see a wider picture. I would hope that Shane was supportive also in a wider sense.

Manolo – as you’re well aware, no boss involved. Is Christine Rankin your boss? Women working together sort of thing.

For the last couple of elections Dunne has held of committing his intentions until early in election year. He’s obviously standing this year. This is all public knowledge. I’ve never talked to him about it.

You could try asking him about what he might do beyond that but if he gets back in my guess is you’ll have to wait for another couple of years or so to find out.

And in rushes Pete George claiming there’s “a big difference”, and the Kiwiblog cheerleaders line up behind him (for once) because that’s tune they want to hear.

To suggest that match fixing is somehow honourable because the conspirators are brazen about their actions is a view which is novel, I’ll give it that.

If Dunne deserves his place at the trough then let him stand against a strong field of candidates from all the other registered parties, and win it fair and square. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t deserve to be there.

And to the National supporters: Labour have behaved even worse as regards Ohariu. Where previously they put up a strong candidate with a chance of winning (Chauvel) they now seem to have walked off the field entirely, putting up a candidate who doesn’t have a hope of running Dunne a close race. Perhaps Waiariki isn’t the only “off the books” deal Cunliffe has done, and Pete’s poster boy is smugly assured of a Cabinet post regardless of which major party wins.

DrDr

Labour needs to win Tai Tokerau, just imagine the flak they will get if they let InternetMana Trainwreck into Parliament. The best way for Kelvin to win is for National supporters to vote tactically and cast their electorate vote for Kelvin. Withdrawing the Maori Party candidate would help but I don’t think they will do that.

You’re a bit out of touch Rex. I personally don’t care what happens in Ohariu, and I’m not cheerleading anyone for this election. But Dunne has made it clear (publicly) he can’t/won’t go with Labour unless they change some of their policy positions significantly.

You’re right that Labour have a novice up against him but they had to find someone to replace Chauvel. And National had to find someone to replace Shanks who quit mid-term.

And notably Greens also pulled Gareth Hughes from Ohariu and have put in another unknown candidate.

doggone7

Whether Davis has billboards up in Northland (which is only a part of Tai Tokerau) I do not know.

What I do know is that it does not matter.

The publishing of this item, speculation that it is, albeit containing a denial, will signify that what is claimed is true. It is more scuttlebutt
in the continued campaign of fomenting unhappy politicking.

I’m far from out of date on Ohariu, Pete… I was recently contracted by a political client to do an analysis of a handful of seats and that was one of them.

No, I don’t blame Dunne for any of it. I blame the gutless major parties who’ve clearly thrown the race. Thanks for reminding me the Greens are equally guilty this time round.

Perhaps it’s you who’s forgotten recent history. When I stood against Dunne in 1996 I took great delight in starting off my speeches saying “I agree with the sitting member, who said this of the Prime Minister…” I then read out a quote in which Dunne had said words to the effect that Bolger was a pig-ignorant country hick who wasn’t fit to run a stock and station agents, and that there was no way in hell he’d ever serve under him.

Then I’d unfurl an enlargement of a Dominion front page of a beaming Dunne sitting at the head of the Cabinet table, literally at Bolger’s right hand, taken mere months after the statement was made… right about when the baubles were piled sufficiently high.

Mark

Rex, Dunne’s got his pros and cons but note that the 1996 election was 18 years ago and he’s still there, surviving and doing what I’d have thought just about any politician would at least hope to do, have as much influence in Government as possible.

I know why Shanks got on her pony out of there. Labour don’t exactly have an abundance of fresh talent lining up. I have no idea what Greens are up to, they said Hughes was working on boosting their youth vote but he could have still stood in an electorate. Perhaps Greens though Labour might come up with a competitive campaigner and stood aside, but they don’t seem to really care about electorates. Greens and Turei have strong support in Dunedin North but she’s not interested in competing in the electorate.

To suggest that match fixing is somehow honourable because the conspirators are brazen about their actions is a view which is novel, I’ll give it that.

Unless John Key has some method of casting those Epsom votes for the residents, it’s not a “fix”. Every party asks their supporters to vote in particular ways and reap the rewards and/or flak that generates.

The problem is the hypocrisy of Cunliffe apparently wanting to bag National for asking their Epsom supporters to only give them their Party vote (as the Greens do everywhere) whilst pretending not to be doing the same in TTT.

Warren Murray

doggone7

Warren Murray

Why do people get so upset with the thought of politicians of the left lying?

A check at the copyright office, patents office or wherever will show that while John Key and his Justice Minister and other colleagues, indulge in lying often, none of them have filed papers to give them a mortgage on the art. Their supporters think they own the tactic by dint of the regularity of using it but they are not entitled to exclusive use of it.

Shazzadude

“Labour have behaved even worse as regards Ohariu. Where previously they put up a strong candidate with a chance of winning (Chauvel) they now seem to have walked off the field entirely, putting up a candidate who doesn’t have a hope of running Dunne a close race.”

I think swapping the child-hating homo for a mother with a young family is a good move for Labour in that electorate.